


small steps

by dabtagon



Category: Pentagon (Korean Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 01:38:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8870746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dabtagon/pseuds/dabtagon
Summary: hwitaek’s presence eased hongseok. at first he was pushing his cart beside him quietly, but by the end of it he was making lame jokes no one found funny. hwitaek didn't find them funny either. (lapslock, entirely, sorry)





	

**Author's Note:**

> okay... this is my first fic in a while and my second (completed) pentagon fic and i think it's okay so i'm sharing it... i hope you enjoy ♡

hongseok looks down at his daughter, she's teary eyed and her cheeks are red, skirt bundled in her fists. she doesn't dare to look back at him. as if she's in some alternate universe where he's planning on taking away her 3ds instead of finding out if he can sue this kid’s parents.

the teacher sighs again, “look, i’m sorry mr. yang, it's ridiculous i even needed to call you in, it's obvious who the one causing this mess is.” 

all hongseok can manage to do is nod, even though he wouldn't shut up if he was in front of anyone else. 

(it's been this way since open house, and jinho has told him just to ask for his number ever since.)

it's partially because the other kid's parents aren't there, there's no reason for him to explain his legal rights to mr. lee, he's done it at least twice before. besides, after a quick google he finds out that pushing his daughter off of the swingset isn’t enough to sue someone even though he’s sure he’ll find a loophole.

finally, the concerned parent in him takes control and he starts lecturing the boy, then his mom comes in, hair ruffled by the wind and three scarves on. she offers them both an apologetic look, but it’s only mr. lee who responds with a reassuring smile.

hongseok doesn’t take these things lightly, not things involving his daughter. he shakes her hand when offered anyway, but his face stays what he deems stone cold (jinho says it’s the face of a ten year old kid who didn’t get what he wanted, but hongseok knows it’s intimidating).

they go through the annoying process of signing papers, the boy gets a detention, and hongseok’s hand is sweaty when he shake’s mr. lee’s.

the boy get’s detention, the mother apologizes, mr. lee apologizes for letting it happen under his watch, but none of it matters to hongseok. he just knows gongshil is hurt and he’s taking her to her favorite ice cream place immediately.

\--

“just ask him already,” jinho yells from the living room, “and make sure to take mine out before you add the onions this time.”

“no, and of course,” hongseok says simply, putting the wooden spoon down in its holder before going to jump on the couch next to jinho.

gongshil is laying with her head on his lap, she fell asleep while watching sailor moon and waiting for dinner. hongseok reaches over and puts a hand in her hair, fixing it and trying to not wake her up before dinner. 

how they ended up like this is something he'll never know the answer to, but he's more than grateful for her. and jinho too sometimes.

“you know,” jinho says quietly, “gongshil would love a step dad.”

“you know,” hongseok tries not to laugh, “hyojong would love a less intrusive boyfriend, but that didn't stop you.”

“shut up, i’m not the one pining over my daughter's art teacher. who, by the way, can barely draw? how did he end up there?”

“how do you know that?”

“oh, i was telling hyojong about your massive crush and-,” jinho starts, clearly uncomfortable but not daring to move to not wake up gongshil.

“you told hyojong?” 

 

“what don’t i tell him? anyway, they’re best friends, if i remember gongshil’s school correctly.” jinho says casually, adjusting the bow on gongshil’s head.

“you pick her up regularly, i would be concerned if you didn’t. but… how?”

“there are, like, 30 residents in this town,” he says casually, gongshil stirs in her sleep and hongseok hears the oven beep.

“i think dinner’s ready and gongshil’s waking up, so let’s change the subject, yeah?”

“you’re going to have to tell her before you marry him, you know.”

“shut up. why do i tell you everything again?”

“because you love me.”

\--

luckily, the next time he sees mr. lee he isn’t being called into his office. not so luckily, it’s when he’s stopping by the grocery store after going to the gym. he’s wearing his ugliest sweats and a too old nike t-shirt, but mr. lee looks as amazing as ever. he’s always dressed well and hongseok hates it.

he’s hoping mr. lee doesn’t notice him, but of course he’s walking by with his (really cute) trademark smile on his face, an arm extended towards hongseok. he takes his hand, both of them bow a bit and hit their heads accidentally.

“ow, sorry mr. lee, i’m a bit tired,” hongseok says, rubbing the top of his head. 

“oh, call me hwitaek outside of school, if you want,” he says, bending down to pick up the glasses hongseok didn’t notice fell.

“sorry,” is all he says, too flustered to say more.

“you look cute with glasses on, you should wear them more often,” hwitaek says, still smiling, the wrinkles around his eyes too cute for hongseok to really process what he’s saying immediately.

he almost drops his cheerios when he does.

“do you live around here?” he asks, going to grab a box of cheerios himself.

“yeah, about 10 minutes away. why, do you?” hongseok asks, trying to get over hwitaek calling him cute and act mildly professional. he’s talking to his daughter’s art teacher, after all.

“yeah! right down the block, actually, i just moved in but you’re invited whenever you want,” he laughs, “well, i’ll see you around?”

“see you,” hongseok waves goodbye, making a mental note to tell jinho about the entire thing when he gets home.

\--

and he does see him around, quite a lot. he sees him walking past the park, greeting some children who he may know from school with a warm smile on his face. he sees him at the grocery store often enough. he sees him walking back to his apartment sometimes when he’s driving home.

he’s not looking for him, really, but it’s hard not to spot him in crowds. hwitaek’s shorter than everyone else and significantly cuter in hongseok’s humble opinion.

“you should just say hi,” jinho advises over coffee before hongseok has to pick up gongshil from her bus stop, “he seems nice, hyojong tells me he’s really friendly.”

“can you stop bringing up hyojong knowing him? it’s weird that your boyfriend knows… well, the one i want to be mine,” he says sheepishly, finishing up his coffee and going to grab his coat.

“aww, you said it out loud!” hongseok gives him a look, but it only strengthens jinho’s need to make fun of him, “but i’ll stop, he says he’s always willing to give you advice, though.”

“shut up. are you coming or not?” he offers jinho his own coat.

“no, i have to go meet hyojong then practice,” he shrugs it on, “tell gongshil i won’t be missing tomorrow’s tea party, though!”

hongseok rolls his eyes, but he can’t help but be endlessly endeared to his best friend’s treatment of his daughter.

they part, hongseok making his way to the bus stop and jinho running the opposite way. he’s late, but it’s not like hyojong ever minds.

hongseok shrugs, turning away and thinking to himself. see, a relationship would be nice. ever since his ex left him and gongshil, things had been rough. not that hwitaek- or, anyone for that matter,- would be a replacement, but it’d be nice to have someone to sleep next to every night again.

she left him about two years ago, gongshil had just turned three. it was cold out like it was today, it was cloudy and snowing and left hongseok hating this season and everything about it. she left without saying goodbye, just a letter for gongshil and a small note saying “sorry” on hongseok’s favorite book.

there was no explanation, no proof it was hongseok’s fault, but he put all the blame on himself. it left him afraid… afraid of commitment, of being left alone, of the cold. but most of all, it left him afraid of ever putting his heart in anyone else’s hands. 

on that day he swore that he’d dedicate his everything to making sure gongshil never felt that absence in her life, and he’s kept good- finding a job with a flexible schedule was his immediate priority. and jinho helped a lot, babysitting whenever he had to stay late at the office (which was rare, because his boss knew him too well), but there was still a bit of emptiness. the feeling of someone holding his hand and shoving it in their pocket to help keep it warm was especially desired now that he forgot his mittens at home.

it’s the first time in forever he’s hoped someone aside from ex would be that person, but that’s another story.

he stops, wiping away the tears that hard formed as his mind went down that train of thought. it wasn’t a long walk, and he didn’t want his daughter to see him like that, but the bus was reaching the stop so he quickly pulled himself together, put on a smile, and ran up to her as soon as he saw her smile.

nothing else made him as happy.

\--

“i’m being serious now, hongseok,” jinho says after hongseok finishes putting gongshil to sleep, “talk to him, i think it would be good for you. even if things don’t turn out the way you want them, you’ll have gained a friend or rest easy knowing you tried.”

hongseok sighs, collapsing next to jinho, putting his head in his lap and swinging his legs over the other end of the couch. 

“i just don’t understand, we’ve barely spoken outside of school, why do i care so much?”

jinho shrugs, hongseok looks up at him, “you’re a lot of help.”

“i’m trying, but _you’ll_ only really know if you try. you said the same to me when i met hyojong, remember? it helped me a lot, and i’m giving you the same advice. talk to him, you have nothing to lose. sure, parent-teacher meetings might be awkward, but it’s only, what, half a school year left? and i know gongshil would be happy, for you and to have him in her life,” jinho looks down at him seriously, a small pout forms on hongseok’s face. his best friend didn’t usually say things like this so sincerely, mostly as jokes and to make fun of hongseok, but he knows if he’s being serious that he has to try.

jinho’s always right, after all.

so when he sees hwitaek at the store, he musters up all the courage he can, and he approaches him.

he almost immediately regrets it, tries to escape, but hwitaek’s smiling and waving him over.

“i don’t know what i should get, honey nut cheerios or apple jacks?” is what he says, hongseok is glad he didn’t read out the essay he wrote in his head last night and says “cheerios, they can help lower cholesterol. says it right on the box.” 

“you know,” hwitaek starts, putting the box of apple jacks back in its place, “i’ve never had the opportunity to ask but… why are you such a nerd?”

hongseok was offended for a moment before remembering that’s how most of his friendships start off, “i am not.”

hwitaek laughed, it was lighthearted and bright and made his smile all the more beautiful, “i’m messing with you, i appreciate your concern, cholesterol levels aren’t a problem for me yet, and i’d like to keep it that way, so thank you.”

hwitaek begins to walk away, waving goodbye and everything before hongseok remembers jinho’s words, he calls hwitaek’s name and the other boy turns around quickly, a questioning look on his face.

“can i… this is going to sound silly, but… can i walk you home? i mean i see you around all the time and we're practically neighbors so...”

“am i stuck in a 90s teen romcom?” is all hwitaek says in response, but his face makes the tone in his voice sound fake, it eases hongseok. he’s smiling and walking over, “i live right down the block, don't you have a car?”

“oh! yeah… yeah i do, you're right. kind of an embarrassing soccer mom car, but a car,” he scratches the back of his head and hui smiles again.

“then will you help me shop for groceries?”

the question made hongseok happier than it should have, really, but he didn't hesitate to say yes.

and it was fun, they hit it off almost immediately. hwitaek’s presence eased hongseok. at first he was pushing his cart beside him quietly, but by the end of it he was making lame jokes no one found funny. hwitaek didn't find them funny either, but his warmth and kindness kept hongseok from stopping with the jokes.

jinho would make fun of him when he told him about it later.

it was a bit awkward when hongseok dropped him off at his house, he offered to help bring his groceries in but hwitaek insisted his house was too much of a mess to show anyone, and carried them in himself. it wasn’t much, but hongseok still felt bad.

part of him feels like it’s because it meant his time with him was over, but there was always the next time.

\--

 _the next time_ came sooner than hongseok expected, but he wasn’t upset about it. it was a couple of weeks later, he was at the park watching over a playdate between gongshil and one of her friends, and hwitaek happened to be passing by. hongseok calls him over immediately, voice way too loud and regretting moving from his very warm position, subjecting himself to the cold, but he’s sure it’d prove to be worth it.

it did.

hwitaek smiles and walks over, taking the seat on the bench next to him. hongseok’s disappointed he didn’t offer a hug, but beggars can’t be choosers. 

“hello,” he says, sitting on his hands and half of his face covered in his scarf. his hair was ruffled by the wind and hongseok found that rather cute.

“hello,” hongseok responds, “are you cold?”

“yes, but, it’s fine. i’ll be home soon anyway… which, by the way, i still feel bad for last time,” hwitaek says, leaning forward and looking until he sees gongshil playing in the sandbox, wrapped in as much clothes as hongseok could put her in while still allowing her mobility.

“it’s okay, i don’t let anyone but my best friend over when the house is a mess. mostly because it’s only ever a mess when he’s there,” hongseok sighs, waving at gongshil who looks at hwitaek instead and waves excitedly. hongseok pouts.

he hears a small laugh from next to him, it’s familiar now and that makes hongseok happier than he’d care to admit, “sorry, she’s just really cute.”

“i know,” he responds, crossing his arms, “but anyway… you could make it up to me with a cup of coffee? not today, unless you want to buy gongshil and her friend hot chocolates.”

“could i do today and another day? i love kids, but i like spending time with you alone, too,” hwitaek says sheepishly, “sorry that’s… it sounds sort of corny, but, it’s true.”

“yes!” hongseok says quickly, before hwitaek can change his mind, “next weekend? you can’t back out, on either.”

hwitaek laughs, “have i ever? but fine, is saturday at around… 3 good for you?” 

“yes,” it’s quick and breathless, “i’ll let my friend know so he can babysit.”

“cool, should we exchange numbers then?” hwitaek asks, but it’s more of a command since he’s pulling out his phone and gesturing for hongseok to take it.

hongseok puts his number in quickly, asks how to get to the emoji keyboard on a damn android before hwitaek points out the smiley face in the corner, and puts a yellow heart emoji next to his name.

“i have to go but… i’ll text you, okay?” he says, getting up and waving goodbye to gongshil, who waves back quickly before going back to running around the playground.

“okay… sorry, i have to make sure gongshil doesn’t hurt herself, but text me!” he says, before standing up and calling gongshil over. 

he takes a quick glance over at hwitaek, he’s walking away and it’s only just now that hongseok noticed how small he is. 

\--

hwitaek does text him, only a little later that day. he’s at home making hot cocoa and jinho walks in on him smiling, he laughs and hongseok can immediately guess his (correct) assumption. hongseok starts to wonder why, exactly, he gave jinho a key in the first place.

 _so, coffee then. sounds a bit cliche for a first meeting, but good. the starbucks by the park?_ is all the text reads, so he really hopes jinho doesn’t ask why he’s smiling, he doesn’t really have an answer himself.

“so,” he starts, going to grab three mugs and mini marshmallows before hongseok has to say anything, “you got his number?”

“i hate that you know me so well,” is all hongseok says, turning around and giving the hot chocolate a final stir before turning off the stove.

jinho puts the mugs on the counter next to it, “you never smile at your phone, it’s usually business emails. and you learned how to talk to him, so it was the only assumption i could make. that or...well, gongshil might hear so i don’t want to say it.”

“i don’t want to hear it, and you know you’re always right anyway,” hongseok serves the hot chocolate and jinho begins putting marshmallows in. as many as possible for hongseok and gongshil, and exactly 10 for him. hongseok’s never felt the need to ask why.

he calls gongshil downstairs and they watch finding dory until she falls asleep on hongseok’s lap, jinho takes the mugs back to the kitchen while hongseok takes her to her bed.

they sit and watch tv for about three minutes before jinho decides it’s time to make hongseok overshare.

“so?” he turns around, makes the face he makes when he’s not concentrated on making it less grumpy, and leans his head against his hand.

“what?” hongseok feigns ignorance.

“mr. lee! his number, tell me, i know you got it, you smiled at your phone at least 3 times while we were watching the movie, and you love finding dory so much you don’t let me talk through it.”

 

“fine! i gave him my number today at the park, we’re going to go out for coffee, and it was only _two_ times, he was being funny,” his tone is so defensive jinho just ends up laughing.

“sorry,” he apologizes quickly and his face returns to its natural state, “when are you going out?”

“saturday, at three, the starbucks down the street from the park, actually- wait, who are _you_ texting?”

“hyojong, i have to tell him our best friends are hooking up.”

\--

it gets colder as the week goes by but, before hongseok knows it, it’s saturday, he’s leaving gongshil in jinho’s capable hands (he has to make sure jinho doesn’t tell gongshil he’s on a date- he’s not, but jinho just _would_ ), and he’s in his car on the way to the starbucks down the street from the park.

he’s said it so much in his head it’s as if he’d get lost on the five minute drive.

it’s snowing when he gets there, so he shuffles into the place quickly to escape it, and is followed by a snow covered hwitaek about six minutes later.

he wasn’t counting, though.

hwitaek smiles at him and orders a drink before going to sit next to him, it’s a bit awkward at first. there’s something strange about the atmosphere, unlike every other time they’ve met or talked, something about it being actually planned and the uncertainty of the intentions behind it.

but, of course, hongseok started with a, “so the weather, eh?” and hwitaek just laughed, breaking the awkward atmosphere, and it felt more like every other moment they had spent together.

hongseok being ridiculous and hwitaek not finding anything to do but to laugh. 

“so, do you know a hyojong?” is the first thing hongseok asks when hwitaek gets back from getting his drink, he’s not surprised when the other boy doesn’t even look shocked.

“yeah, he mentions a jinho a lot,” hwitaek takes a sip of his coffee, “his boyfriend, actually, but i figure you know that already.”

the rest of it goes smoothly, banter and hongseok’s terrible jokes that hwitaek doesn’t even laugh at out of politeness, and it ends with plans to meet up again, with hongseok riding hwitaek home and insisting on walking him to the door.

hongseok gets a hug so the walk to through the cold night’s air is worth it.

“you should come inside next time,” hwitaek says when they let go, “i’ll make sure to clean up.”

“that sounds… nice,” hongseok says after a small countdown in his head to keep him from yelling _yes!_ immediately and excitedly.

“then, next saturday, the park and my place after?” hwitaek asks, unlocking the door to the apartment building.

“next saturday,” he repeats, “i’ll see you then.”

“see you.”

\--

he spends the next week texting hwitaek, working, taking care of gongshil, looking forward to seeing hwitaek again, and telling jinho to fuck off every time the other spots him smiling at his phone.

but before he knows it the week is up and he’s standing in front of the door to hwitaek’s apartment, hands sweaty ( _arms spaghetti_ he thinks to himself), and overwhelmed when hwitaek leads him inside and offers to take his coat.

hongseok shrugs it off and takes everything in while hwitaek goes to put it away. it’s small, of course, and warm. there’s notebooks spread throughout the room and hongseok walks over to a tiny pile of ones, asking what’s inside.

“oh, that?” hwitaek says from the kitchen, he’s putting coffee on the stove, “it’s just… i write songs sometimes? you can look if you want, they’re not very good.”

“don’t lie,” hongseok says already halfway through skimming one of them, “these are amazing.”

“oh,” hwitaek stays quiet for a while, and hongseok looks over, telling himself he’s imagining the red on hwitaek’s face, “thank you.”

they really are beautiful, neat little notes here and there on what to improve on. you can tell it’s a teacher’s notebook, but the lyrics inside are warm and hongseok feels his heart swell looking through them. he’s completely engrossed by the time the coffee’s finished, and hwitaek has to break his attention away by shoving him against his shoulder with his own. “don’t read too much into it,” he says, “i’m… embarrassed i let you read them, but there’s very little… personal experience behind the lyrics.”

hongseok laughs and takes his coffee, “i think they’re beautiful, though. do you sing?”

“a little,” he admits, “i think i’m pretty good but it never really went anywhere.”

“i understand, i was the same when i was younger,” hongseok responds, putting down the notebook to give hwitaek his full attention now, “i studied abroad a lot, though. i never had time and my parents pushed me towards business, so it never went anywhere either.”

“i was always just a bit… well, it’s embarrassing anyway.”

“i’m sure you’re great, though. you should sing for me one day.”

hwitaek offers him a smile, and they’re close enough for hongseok to really take it in for the first time. hwitaek’s smile is bright and the wrinkles that form around his eyes are especially beautiful. 

“i will.”

the distance gets smaller somehow. close enough that if hongseok just leaned over they could kiss, instead hwitaek laughs into hongseok’s shoulder.

“sorry,” he says, getting up quickly, “i’m just a bit… if i said i was shy, i’d be lying. i’m just shy around you.”

hongseok feels he’s too old for the things his heart is doing.

“it’s okay,” he’s mildly disappointed he didn’t get the kiss, but the feeling of hwitaek’s laughter against him was more than enough, “i’m a bit shy around you too.”

“you? shy?” hongseok’s immediately offended at hwitaek’s expression, and he gets up too just to remind the other he’s taller as if that means he deserves some sort of respect.

“yes! i mean… no, that’s a lie, too. but… um, what were we planning on doing again?”

“i said we could watch tv, you asked if i had cranium, i reminded you you need more than two people to play that, and now we’re standing in the middle of my living room with you showing off your height.”

“oh… so you noticed?”

“you’re not the first.”

they both break out into laughter, the awkwardness that had formed before disappearing. they end up watching tv like hwitaek had originally suggested, flipping through the channels until jeopardy’s on and hongseok is answering the questions before the host gets to finish reading them out.

the rest of the evening goes like that, laughter and a shared bowl of popcorn between them. they both fall asleep halfway through an episode of jeopardy and hongseok wakes up just before the end from a phone call from jinho. he just barely misses it, and is too engrossed in how cute hwitaek looks sleeping to call back right away.

the other is leaning against him, curled up in a blanket and mouth slightly open. hongseok finds himself wondering what it’d be like to have his lips against hwitaek’s.

and then his phone rings again, and he gets up as gently as possible to not wake him up, heart still racing from the thought. but he comes back down to earth and remembers jinho’s watching gongshil, and wouldn’t bother him if there wasn’t an emergency.

he pulls on his coat and slips on his shoes quickly before walking outside to answer, “hello?”

“hey, okay, i know your busy like, making out probably but… it’s an emergency… where do you keep the salsa?

“okay one, we were asleep not… whatever you want to call it,” hongseok says, yawning, “two, i ran out i’ll be home with some right away.”

“alright,” jinho says, “as long as i didn’t interrupt anything. like, progress or something. and get the cheesy kind.”

“shut up,” hongseok says, all he has to do is hear jinho’s laugh before hanging up. he opens the door quickly, hwitaek still in the same position (lying against a stack of pillows hongseok made to replace him) and hongseok can’t bring himself to wake him up.

he writes him a small note and grabs a spare key to lock the door, using returning it as an excuse to text hwitaek tomorrow.

\--

and he does text him, almost every hour. their meet ups become more frequent, hongseok even inviting him over to dinner eventually. gongshil was confused as to what mr. lee was doing in her house, hiding behind the table thinking she’s in trouble before hongseok tells her that he’s just over for dinner.

it’s then that the barrier hongseok had made between them breaks, when he sees gongshil laughing with hwitaek over the dinner he cooked. he realizes things, things jinho had been telling him for a while but he didn’t want to confront.

something inside him shifts and suddenly everything is different.

he notices the difference when he’s at a library with hwitaek, both of them are more touchy than usual and hwitaek is reading one of hongseok’s favorite books. he leans across the table and pulls the book down to reveal hwitaek’s face (it’s red, and he knows why, even if neither of them have said anything), “nice book.”

hwitaek smiles and almost hits him with it, and hongseok’s about to cause a ruckus before he realizes they’re too old to get kicked out of the library.

it’s the first of many. they hold hands, huddle together when it’s cold out, take each other to expensive dinners and alternate between who pays.

“you might as well just… call it what it is at this point,” jinho says handing him a dish to dry, “also, hyojong pointed out that i spend way too much time here lately.”

“you always have, but thank you for watching gongshil anyway,” hongseok says, reaching over somewhere jinho has to pull out the stepping stool to reach to put a dish away.

“it’s okay, i love her, and i’ll get a break when you finally ask him to move in.”

“shut up,” is all hongseok says, but he’s right, and hongseok knows it. he’s always right.

the words are there, just unspoken. they’re there in the way hwitaek grabs him by his hips at every given opportunity and how hongseok is always smiling around him, more than he smiles around anyone else.

he’ll say it, he tells himself before falling asleep, _next time_.

\--

the thing is he has it all planned out, he invited hwitaek over for dinner and jinho’s nowhere to be found. gongshil’s upstairs asleep and they’re watching jeopardy again. but this time it’s more quiet, hongseok gathering the courage to say what he’s been trying to say for months instead of answering all the questions.

and the other thing is hwitaek says it first. his head against hongseok’s shoulder while an infomercial plays quietly in the background.

“i… i think you know what i’m going to say? i hope i’m not assuming anything,” he starts, “i just… i like you, and i think you like me, and i think we’re too old for all of that… so… what do you say we just…” he trails off, sitting up now and looking at hongseok seriously.

“yes! i mean, i don’t know how to say it either, i’ve been imagining this a million times in my head,” hongseok says, he’s sitting up now too, and he grabs hwitaek’s hands as the smile on the other’s face gets bigger, “i wanted to say something first, though.”

“oh, stop pouting. how old are you?”

“26 if we’re talking earth years,” hongseok says, as seriously as he can. but hwitaek makes a face and hongseok can’t help but laugh at his own joke, and their back to where they started.

“it’s not even funny, you know, you could’ve kissed me instead.”

“i was just answering your question...and can i? i’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” hongseok responds quickly, getting closer by the second. 

hwitaek smiles and nods, hongseok stares at his lips for a while (they’re beautiful, but there’s no need to say that, he thinks it often enough) before closing the small space left between them. he closes his eyes and takes it all in.

the feeling of hwitaek’s lips against his, slightly chapped, but hongseok’s wearing enough lip balm for the both of them. the feeling of hwitaek’s arms around him. the feeling of hwitaek against him. hwitaek’s lips parting to let hongseok in.

it’s too much, and he pulls away before it goes any further. he fails at not thinking too much about the sound of disappointment hwitaek makes when they part.

\--

hongseok’s phone buzzes, _finally_ , is all the text from jinho reads.

**Author's Note:**

> omg okay 1) i know hongseok's a little young but let's just say he was a Young Parent 2) i'm sorry it's so bad


End file.
